Frequently Asked Questions

Click Section you would like to review: Making Content Accessible| General Questions | Digital Accessibility |  General Questions from Supervisors  | COVID-19 Transition

Documents

• Employee Accommodation Request Form (Online)
• Employee Accommodation Request Form (DOCX)
• Employee Accommodation Request Medical Inquiry Form (DOCX)
• Para Transportation Request Form (XLS)
• Town Clerk's Office Location Near Stony Brook

Making Content Accessible ( Resources)

• Website Accessibility

  Click here for more information on creating a Website Accessible.

• Creating Accessible Documents

  Creating accessible Microsoft Office documents by Microsoft.  

• Universal Design in Learning

  For information on Universal Design for Learning (UDL), the  Center for Applied Special Technology (CAST) has a  framework of research-based guidelines. CAST defines UDL as a framework to improve and optimize teaching and learning for all people based on scientific insights into how humans learn. While these guidelines are helpful for many learners, they are not a replacement for accommodations intended to meet specific needs.  You may find a graphic organized to speak to the principles of Universal Design (UX) here.   

General Questions

• What is "Reasonable Accommodation?"
  A Reasonable accommodation is any modification or adjustment to a job or the work environment that will enable a qualified applicant or employee with a disability to participate in the application process or perform essential job functions. Reasonable accommodation also includes adjustments to assure that a qualified individual with a disability has rights and privileges in employment equal to those without disabilities.
• How much information does the university need to explore and implement an accommodation?
  Exploration and implementation of reasonable accommodation are done on an individualized basis and is an interactive process. The timeline will vary depending on the complexity of the case and available resources. Therefore, it is best to initiate your request as soon as you suspect you may need a reasonable accommodation.
• I am an employee with a mobility impairment. Do you provide transportation from my home to campus?

  he university does not provide transportation from an employee's home. All employees are responsible for transporting themselves to and from campus.

  Transportation and Parking Operations offer Special Transportation Services for those community members with a documented disability or injured. Transportation and Parking Operations operates a shuttle service according to the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) to meet the needs of disabled/injured individuals. You may contact transportation and Parking Operations at 631-632-6418 OR 631-632-3741

  Stony Brook University individuals who require Special Transportation Services to travel to/from the following Suffolk Transit Connection destinations may request such services through Suffolk County Accessible Transportation (SCAT) Services at (631) 738-1150 (voice) or (631) 981-0104 (TTY);

  SCAT provides curb-to-curb transportation and will pick you up and drop you off between any two points in Suffolk County (excluding Shelter Island and trips that begin and end in the Town of Huntington, which are serviced by the HART paratransit system).

  If you need more information, please visit  the SCAT FAQ page  (  http://www.sct-bus.org/scat_faq.html ). 

   

• What types of accommodation(s) are usually considered reasonable under the ADA for employees or applicants?

  Making facilities used by employees accessible to the disabled, acquiring or modifying equipment or devices, providing readers or interpreters, or similar accommodations are generally considered reasonable. OEA will individually evaluate each situation when presented.

  For accommodations for students, please contact the Student Accessibility Support Center (SASC) at 631-632-6748 or sasc@stonybrook.edu.

   

• What types of accommodation does an employer not have to provide?

  Employers need not furnish personal use items needed in accomplishing daily activities on and off the job, such as eyeglasses, hearing aids, and wheelchairs, as a reasonable accommodation. In addition, an employer need not provide any requested accommodation if it presents an "undue" hardship to the employer.

• What does undue hardship mean?

  An undue hardship includes an action or accommodation requiring significant difficulty and expense, taking into account the nature and cost of the accommodation, the financial resources of the facility, the number of employees of the facility, the effect the accommodation would have on the facility, and the nature of the operations of the employer.

• What, if any, accommodation will I receive?

  Once Stony Brook determines that you may require accommodation, we will engage in an interactive process to determine if any reasonable accommodation might be provided. We will make reasonable efforts to work with you and consider your preference; however, we may move forward with an alternative accommodation that is less burdensome as long as it is appropriate and meets your needs.

• How do I know what information is necessary to document my impairment(s) or provide suggested reasonable accommodation?

  Stony Brook may require supporting documentation from a medical provider if the impairment or safe and effective reasonable accommodation is not apparent. We will only need the documentation necessary to establish the impairment and determine the appropriate safe and effective reasonable accommodation.

Digital Accessibility 

• What is Digital Accessibility?
  Digital accessibility covers all electronic documents, media, tools, and processes used to create digital content and electronic communication and transaction methods. Accessibility means that a person with a disability can independently use the tools or techniques, interact with the content, receive the same benefit simultaneously and with equal ease of use as a person without a disability.
• What if my program does not involve participants with disabilities?
  20% of the population has a disability, and a recent study of college students found that 46% did not disclose their disability. Taken together, we can not assume that we do not work with a student, colleague, or community member with a disability.
• Can we wait until we receive an accommodation request to make our content or service accessible?
  It is much more costly in time and resources to remediate accessibility. We would not construct a building and wait to receive a request for access to the second floor before installing an elevator. We must look at our process and design our content, tools, and process to be accessible to the broadest audience from the outset.
• What can I do it if I encounter an accessibility barrier on a Stony Brook University website?

  Stony Brook University is committed to providing an accessible experience for all Students, faculty, staff, and community members. If you encounter an accessibility barrier with Stony Brook Content, programs, or services, please submit an   Accessibility Barrier Report Form .

General Questions from Supervisors

• Will OEA contact me if my employee makes a request?

  Yes. As part of our interactive process, we speak with you and the employee to determine what accommodation we can provide that best fits the department's needs and addresses the barrier at work for the employee.

• I already spoke with and approved an accommodation for my employee. Must we notify OEA?

  Yes. Please refer the employee to OEA and inform us of the accommodation to document it for our records.

• My employee gave me medical documentation (including doctors note) and asked for accommodation. What should I do?

  Please contact OEA at oea_ada@stonybrook.edu and forward (inter-office original medical documentation, our internal ZIP is 0251) all relevant documentation to the attention of the ADA Specialist .  Please do not  save or make copies of any medical documentation, and you may also return the document to your employee and refer them to OEA with their request.   

   

Covid-19 Transition 

The HIL approved my employee to work remotely, and I was recently informed that all offices are coming back to in-person work  by August 1, 2021 . However, I was informed by my employee that they need an extension for either of the following:

• They are the caretaker/caregiver for a (parent, child, or spouse).

  They may be referred to their Human Resources; West Campus, 631-632-6161, University Hospital, 631-444-4700, LISVH, 631-444-8617 .   Current guidance by the Federal government only covers the immediate employee for a workplace accommodation.

• Member(s) within their household have underlying health conditions.

  They may be referred to their Human Resources; West Campus, 631-632-6161, University Hospital, 631-444-4700, LISVH, 631-444-8617 .   Current guidance by the Federal government only covers the immediate employee for a workplace accommodation.

• Or, they have an underlying condition that requires them to remain remote for some time?

  You may refer your employee to OEA or they may fill out the Disability Accommodation Request Form by clicking here .

Additional questions

• The President and Administration has stated plainly that everyone is expected to return to in-person physical presence in the workplace. That said, if an employee is seeking to continue working remotely, what authority does OEA have to grant an accommodation request?
  Under the ADA, we as an institution have an obligation to review ADA-related accommodation requests on an individual basis. Suppose we determine through an interactive process that an employee has a legitimate reason to continue working remotely. By doing so, they can perform the essential function of their job. In that case, we can grant such accommodation on a short-term/temporary basis.
• If an accommodation to allow one person to continue to work remotely for a period of time is granted, other employees will either think it's unfair, or want a similar accommodation. Can I deny a request on the grounds of fairness to others?
  OEA has a process for reviewing and deciding what accommodations can and should be granted. A supervisor should not deny an employee's ADA-related accommodation request. If, after engaging in an interactive process with the employee and the supervisor, we determine that an accommodation cannot be granted, that notification will come from OEA, not the supervisor. The ADA requires us to review each ADA-related accommodation request on an individual basis. The fact that other employees may also seek an accommodation or believe that it is unfair is not a compelling reason to deny a reasonable accommodation request.  
• Why are pregnancy accommodation requests being handled by OEA?
  Although pregnancy alone is not considered a disability, the person may seek temporary accommodations because of their current situation. Since OEA staff are trained on reviewing medically related accommodation requests, it makes sense to have such requests go through an already established process. Furthermore, with regards to pregnancy and Covid, the CDC currently recognizes that pregnant women have an increased risk for severe illness from Covid-19.